Publications by authors named "Makuch R"

This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of machine learning (ML) techniques in classifying pediatric individuals-cardiological patients, healthy participants, and athletes-based on cardiorespiratory features from short-term static measurements. It also examined the impact of cardiorespiratory coupling (CRC)-related features (from causal and information domains) on the modeling accuracy to identify a preferred cardiorespiratory feature set that could be further explored for specialized tasks, such as monitoring training progress or diagnosing health conditions. We utilized six self-prepared datasets that comprised various subsets of cardiorespiratory parameters and applied several ML algorithms to classify subjects into three distinct groups.

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As SARS-CoV-2 swept across the globe, increased ventilation and implementation of air cleaning were emphasized by the US CDC and WHO as important strategies to reduce the risk of inhalation exposure to the virus. To assess whether higher ventilation and air cleaning rates lead to lower exposure risk to SARS-CoV-2, 1274 manuscripts published between April 2020 and September 2022 were screened using key words "airborne SARS-CoV-2 or "SARS-CoV-2 aerosol". Ninety-three studies involved air sampling at locations with known sources (hospitals and residences) were selected and associated data were compiled.

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There is a lack of studies on non-linear heart rate (HR) variability in athletes. We aimed to assess the usefulness of short-term HR dynamics and asymmetry parameters to evaluate the neural modulation of cardiac activity based on non-stationary RR interval series by studying their changes during sympathetic nervous system activity stimulation (isometric handgrip test) and post-stimulation recovery in professional ski mountaineers. The correlation between the changes in the parameters and the respiratory rate (RespRate) and also the duration of the career was analyzed.

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Down syndrome (DS) is the most prevalent genetic cause of intellectual disability, resulting from trisomy 21. Recently, positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has been used to image synapses in vivo. The motivation for this pilot study was to investigate whether synaptic density in low functioning adults with DS can be evaluated using the PET radiotracer [C]UCB-J.

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Background: In the 21st century, with the rapid development of many human life areas, physical activity should be prevalent in health maintenance and promotion. Body posture is a motor habit characteristic of every individual. Its correctness depends on numerous aspects, e.

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The quality of drug products in the United States has been a matter of growing concern. Buyers and payers of pharmaceuticals have limited insight into measures of drug-product quality. Therefore, a quality-score system driven by data collection is proposed to differentiate between the qualities of drug products produced by different manufacturers.

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Background: It is known that maternal thyroid dysfunction during early pregnancy can cause adverse pregnancy complications and birth outcomes. This study was designed to examine the association between ambient particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters ≤2.5 μm (PM) and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters ≤10 μm (PM) exposure and maternal thyroid function during early pregnancy.

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The importance of physical activity in preventing chronic cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and the role of exercise as an adjunct therapy are widely recognized. Triathlon is a typically endurance discipline. Prolonged and intensive exercise is known to cause changes in blood rheological properties and biochemical markers; sometimes athletes participating in strenuous competitions need medical attention.

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The reliability of handgrip strength (HGS) measurement has been confirmed in adults but has been sparsely addressed in pediatric populations. The aims of this study are twofold: to determine whether sex, age and/or hand-dominance influence the test-retest differences and to establish the reliability level of the HGS measurement in typical developing pediatric participants. A total of 338 participants aged 7-13 years were tested using a digital handgrip strength (HGS) dynamometer (Jamar Plus+ Dynamometer) by the same rater on two testing trials separated by a one-day interval between sessions.

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Introduction: Because of financial pressures, low-income individuals sometimes run out of cellphone service towards the end of the month.

Aims: To determine if the time of month affects ability to reach low-income smokers by telephone.

Methods: We reviewed data from a completed trial in the United States of emergency department (ED)-initiated tobacco dependence treatment for low-income smokers at a busy, academic ED in an urban community.

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This study aims to extend the definition of quality of life (QoL) for adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 180, ages 23-60) by: (1) characterizing the heterogeneity of normative outcomes (employment, independent living, social engagement) and objective QoL (physical health, neighborhood quality, family contact, mental health issues); and (2) identifying predictors of positive normative outcomes and good objective QoL. Findings of an exploratory latent class analysis identified three groups of adults with ASD-Greater Dependence, Good Physical and Mental Health, and Greater Independence. Findings indicate that better daily living skills, better executive function, and more maternal warmth are associated with assignment to better outcome groups.

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Rift Valley fever (RVF) poses a risk as a potential agent in bioterrorism or agroterrorism. A live attenuated RVF vaccine (RVF MP-12) has been shown to be safe and protective in animals and showed promise in two initial clinical trials. In the present study, healthy adult human volunteers (N=56) received a single injection of (a) RVF MP-12, administered subcutaneously (SQ) at a concentration of 10(4.

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Study Objective: Tobacco use is common among emergency department (ED) patients, many of whom have low income. Our objective is to study the efficacy of an intervention incorporating motivational interviewing, nicotine replacement, and quitline referral for adult smokers in an ED.

Methods: This was a 2-arm randomized clinical trial conducted from October 2010 to December 2012 in a northeastern urban US ED with 90,000 visits per year.

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Specification of the treatment effect that a clinical trial is designed to detect (θA) plays a critical role in sample size and power calculations. However, no formal method exists for using prior information to guide the choice of θA. This paper presents a hybrid classical and Bayesian procedure for choosing an estimate of the treatment effect to be detected in a clinical trial that formally integrates prior information into this aspect of trial design.

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Background: Regulators from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) do not always agree on interpretation of data for a drug's safety and efficacy.

Methods And Results: The authors compared all new molecular entities approved or rejected in a 5-year period from 2007 to 2011, identified where FDA and EMA reviews resulted in different regulatory decisions, and explored potential mechanisms for the discrepancies. Thirteen entities were associated with different regulatory decisions, and 2 drugs were withdrawn from their respective markets in 2010: one from the US (Mylotarg; gemtuzumab ozogamicin) and the other in Europe (Thelin; sitaxentan sodium).

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Background: Activity limitations are an important and useful dimension of disability, but there are few validated measures of activity limitations for adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities.

Objective/hypothesis: To describe the development of the Waisman Activities of Daily Living (W-ADL) Scale for adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities, and systematically evaluate its measurement properties according to an established set of criteria.

Methods: The W-ADL was administered among four longitudinally studied groups of adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities: 406 with autism; 147 with fragile-X syndrome; 169 with Down syndrome; and 292 with intellectual disability of other or unknown origin.

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The distinction between prevention and detection behaviors provides a useful guideline for appropriately framing health messages in terms of gains or losses. However, this guideline assumes that everyone perceives the outcomes associated with a behavior in a consistent manner, as prevention or detection. Individuals' perceptions of a behavior vary, and so the effects of framed messages may be optimized by considering individuals' perceptions rather than the prevention or detection function of the behavior.

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In the fly's visual system, the morphology of cells and the number of synapses change during the day. In the present study we show that in the first optic neuropil (lamina) of Drosophila melanogaster, a presynaptic active zone protein Bruchpilot (BRP) exhibits a circadian rhythm in abundance. In day/night (or light/dark, LD) conditions the level of BRP increases two times, in the morning and in the evening.

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Very low birth weight preterm (PT) children are at high risk for brain injury. Employing diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), we tested the hypothesis that PT adolescents would demonstrate microstructural white matter disorganization relative to term controls at 16 years of age. Forty-four PT subjects (600-1250 g birth weight) without neonatal brain injury and 41 term controls were evaluated at age 16 years with DTI, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT), and the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP).

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High nicotine dependence is a reliable predictor of difficulty quitting smoking and remaining smoke-free. Evidence also suggests that the effectiveness of various smoking cessation treatments may vary by nicotine dependence level. Nicotine dependence, as assessed by Heaviness of Smoking Index baseline total scores, was evaluated as a potential moderator of a message-framing intervention provided through the New York State Smokers' Quitline (free telephone based service).

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Purpose: As part of a drug's entire life cycle, post-marketing studies are an important part in the identification of rare, serious adverse events. Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has begun to implement new post-marketing safety mandates as a consequence of increased emphasis on safety. The purpose of this research is to provide exact sample size formula for the proposed hybrid design, based on a two-group cohort study with incorporation of historical external data.

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Background: Fear of weight gain is a significant obstacle to smoking cessation, preventing some smokers from attempting to quit. Several previous studies of naltrexone yielded promising results for minimization of post-quit weight gain. Given these encouraging findings, we endeavored to test whether minimization of weight gain might translate to better quit outcomes for a population that is particularly concerned about gaining weight upon quitting.

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Prematurely born children are at increased risk for language deficits at school age and beyond, but the neurobiological basis of these findings remains poorly understood. Thirty-one PT adolescents (600-1250g birth weight) and 36 T controls were evaluated using an fMRI passive language task and neurodevelopmental assessments including: the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R), the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP) and the Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE) at 16years of age. Neural activity was assessed for language processing and the data were evaluated for connectivity and correlations to cognitive outcomes.

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Many smokers experience subsyndromal anxiety symptoms while smoking and during acute abstinence, which may contribute to relapse. We hypothesized that cortical gamma aminobutyric acid(A)-benzodiazepine receptor (GABA(A)-BZR) availability in smokers and nonsmokers might be related to the expression of subsyndromal anxiety, depressive, and pain symptoms. Cortical GABA(A)-BZRs were imaged in 15 smokers (8 men and 7 women), and 15 healthy age and sex-matched nonsmokers, and 4 abstinent tobacco smokers (3 men; 1 woman) using [(123)I]iomazenil and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

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